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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

THOMAS W. BROWN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WM. W. MEAD.

. BUTTONI-IOLiE-CUITER.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No. 10,972, dated May 23, 1854.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, THOMAS W.BRowN,

of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Buttonhole-Cutter or Instrument for Making Buttonholes or Slits in Cloth or other Material; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully` described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, letters, figures, and references thereof.

Of the said drawings, Figure l, denotes a side view of my improved button hole cutter. Fig. 2, is a vertical and longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3, is a top view of the cloth rest.

In the said instrument A, and B, denote two levers, which are hinged together at C, and have their arms a, I), made like those of a common pair of scissors. The front arm c, of the lever A, is provided with a cloth rest D, which may be graduated or have divisions formed on its top surface by which the edge of the cutting knife may be adjusted to its so asto enable it to cut a button hole of any desirable length when the lower end of the stop screw is brought down upon its bed f. To the adjoining arm g, of the other lever I fasten a thin blade or knife E, whose cutting edgez., z', is made t-o stand at an acute angle with the top surface of the cloth rest, while the side of the knife plays in contact with the inner side of the cloth rest, as does one blade of a pair of shears play in contact with the other blade. The inner edge k, c, of the knife may be curved from la., to c, to the arc of a circle, whose center is that of the joint pin of the` two levers, and this in order that when the cutting knife is passing down through the cloth the back edge h, it, of it may perform no injurious or tearing operation upon the cloth. In rear of the knife I place a thumb screw N, which is screwed down through that arm of the lever B, to which the knife is attached and when screwed down abutsat its lower end against the bed f. The lower part of the screw may be made as a tubular cutter, as seen at i, in Fig. 2, which when brought down upon a piece ofcloth resting on the bed f, may be made to cut a hole through it, such tubular cutter in conjunction with the cutting knife forming a cut through the cloth composed of a slit and a hole at or near one end of it. Thus the screw is not only made to regulate the length of the cut made by the knife but its lower end may be made to perform the function of producing a hole at one end of such cut. vWhen the bottom of the screwrests on the bed f, if we press the longer legs of the lever together and turn the screw either in one direction or the other the manner in which the length of cut is regulated by the screw will at once be apparent.

' I am aware that a button hole cutter has been made with a sliding and adjustablecloth rest and a knife with a straight edge, which when the knife was closed was broughtdown upon so as to restthroughout its length on the top surface of the cloth rest. Now I do not claim such'a contrivance, as .my button hole cutter is constructed and operates entirely different therefrom, but

l. The combination and arrangement of the angular knife or knife edge,` the cloth rest and adjusting screw vsubstantially as hereinbefore described and so as to operate together as specified.

2. And I also claim the combining a tubular cutter directly with the adjusting screw and sothat it may perform the functions of a cutter and stop essentially as hereinbefore specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this fifth day of December, A. D. 1853.

THOMAS W. BROWN. 

